Further progress

This news is covering the last weeks!!

Drone tests

The drone was tested these weeks only few times as our pilot for personal reasons had limited time. Also there was the issue of bad weather, not for the drone, but for us doing the testing preparation. But with the new control system we could perfectly test Pitch and Roll and fine tune. Yaw is the next thing and then we have the way point flight. With the drone testing centre in Airport Twente we await the approval for such flight. ILenT, the Dutch authorities on RPAS’s still have to reply to our request. Once approved we can show this feature!

Continuous generation of new ideas

In discussion with target groups for the drones we continuously find new applications for our system that can lift 100 kg. At the moment we are considering special applications like spraying systems for vineyards. We are using CFD simulations to investigate how droplets of spraying fluid behave in downwash of propelers and how they spread through vineyard rows.

Battery study

We have engaged in a battery study to update our search. It is interesting to see that capacities improve, whereas the high energy systems lack the cycle life of the LiFePO4 systems. Automotive industries and other interest groups spur performance, Tesla being one of the major players in this. Contact us for more details.

Market study

The Market study is well underway and interesting things emerge: trends in crop care and systems and spray technologies. We can immediately apply this knowledge in our design of crop care system.

Investors news

We now have all ready Investors Pitch, B plan, Video etc. We can send this package to prospective angel investors. We do not want to engage with VC’s as we need investors that 1) believe in the commercial applications in agriculture for our agridrone; 2) want to bring their knowledge on business making; 3) use their network for this venture.

Cooperation with B partners

Discussions are underway with a number of cooperation partners. One is in the Agrisector, the other in the manufacturing. Highly interesting as this might also give sharing of experiences and support the commercialization in a later stage.

Subsidies

We are preparing for a EU subsidy on innovation. We are now discussing interests, roles and responsibilities. For this we hired a professional consultant to ensure success!

Cooperation with WUR

With the WUR we plan to make a R&D STW project in which key elements are sensing, vision, image interpretation, and action as part of the system.

Cooperation with UTwente

With the University of Twente we have agreed that a project related to the many aspects of a larger drone could be formulated. This project will cover all key elements for a drone with robotic features. From silent rotors to autopilot redundancy systems, etc.. We have some tools available so to have students do tests on silent rotors etc..